Study: Eating fast food is OK if you do this

I won’t be shocking you today by saying that a fast food diet combined with being a couch potato is a sure path to aging and disease.

But you may be surprised to learn that recent research has shown regular exercise may undo the effects of an unhealthy diet on the cellular level!

A study of mice conducted at the Mayo Clinic showed that exercise helped to prevent diabetes-like symptoms by decreasing the effects of an unhealthy diet.

In addition, exercise appeared to help prevent the accumulation of senescent cells in the mice, which are cells that can increase the risk of age-related disease and conditions.

Plus once the mice started exercising, they stopped accumulating belly fat--which is particularly dangerous and can increase the risk of heart disease, kidney disease, and dementia.

Whoa, Nelly!
If your four food groups are Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Dunkin’ Donuts you may be shaking with delight right now thinking all you need to do is take a stroll around the block and you’re golden.

Not so fast.

First of all, “exercise” typically means something more than a casual walk.

Generally speaking, you should do something for at least 30 minutes a day that raises your heart rate and makes you sweat.

And if you’d rather stick needles in your eyeballs than to exercise, here are my top five tips for success:

• Pick an activity you like or will tolerate.  You’ll be more likely to stick with exercise if you don’t loathe what you’re doing.
• Get an exercise buddy.  You’re far less likely to skip a workout if someone is counting on you to show up, plus you can have fun talking and the time will fly by faster.  (This is my friend Liana and I running across the finish line at the Empire State Marathon in 2012—we’ve been exercise buddies for years.)
• Make your goals reasonable.  For example, don't expect to run five miles when the farthest you’ve ever run is from the couch to the refrigerator and back during a commercial.  Even though I’ve run 26.2, I started with a mile or two way back when.
• Celebrate your little victories along the way.  It’s easier to stay motivated when you can look back and see how far you’ve come.
• Remember you’ll rarely ever regret working out, but you’ll almost always regret not working out. 

Just be sure to get your doctor’s OK.

A glaring omission from the study
In addition to not specifying exactly what “regular exercise” is, there was also a glaring omission in the study I quoted above.

The health price of eating nutrient-poor foods!

I don’t care what you do—you can run a marathon every week, but if you’re not nourishing your body with real foods, it’s not a matter of if but merely when will you suffer the consequences.

Here are some examples of what lacking nutrients can do to you:

Heart disease is directly connected to deficiencies in zinc, magnesium, vitamins B6, B12, D, C and E, and folic acid.

Depression can be triggered by low levels of vitamins B3, B6, and B12 as well as vitamin D.

Autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, lupus, Crohn’s disease, psoriasis and Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism are linked to vitamin D deficiency.

Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are associated with inadequate levels of vitamin B12, magnesium, and vitamin D.

Cancer can result from numerous possible deficiencies including vitamins A, D, E and K, folic acid, selenium, and zinc.

Type 2 diabetes is commonly seen with deficiencies in biotin, chromium, vanadium, magnesium and vitamin C.

Face the music
Now it’s time to face the music, all you fast food fanatics. You’d better start getting properly nourished or else you’ll be pushing up daisies long before your time.

I know this seem challenging, so I’ll share a personal confession about unhealthy choices:

I used to be a Diet Pepsi-a-holic in my early 20’s but one day the soda machine at work was out of Diet Pepsi so I just got a bottle of water. 

I felt SO GOOD and refreshed after that water it was astonishing…so needless to say that was the end of Diet Pepsi (and all soda) for me.

Even small steps in the right direction can make a big difference.

I tell my clients to start by making just one healthy change or substitution each day.  That could be things like:

• Swapping out a soda for water
• Cooking a meal at home instead of ordering pizza
• Opting for a side salad with your dinner in a restaurant instead of French fries
• Offering a crudité platter and/or shrimp with cocktail sauce instead of chips as appetizers
• Choosing scrambled eggs, yogurt or oatmeal instead of a donut for breakfast

As you’re making strides toward healthier choices, you can ensure your nutritional bases are covered with a high-quality multi-vitamin formula, and promote sound digestion and absorption of those precious nutrients with a good probiotic supplement.

Power the power of nutrition and regular exercise to work in creating the healthiest you that you can be!

To your health,

Sherry Brescia

Exercise--is it a dirty word?

Exercise is a dirty word to a lot of people. 

And when the word exercise comes up, that’s when the excuses come out!

Many people claim to "not have the time."  Yet they can tell you what happened on The Big Bang Theory or who got eliminated on Dancing With The Stars this week.

Others say that they “feel uncomfortable or self-conscious at a gym” yet there are DVDs and equipment you can use right in your own home. 

The sad thing is, most excuse-makers also happen to be overweight, sick and medicated.

If I've just described you, listen up.  It's time you acknowledged that you are responsible for your ill state of health.

Then DO something about it--and start by getting regular exercise.

Let’s first look at…

The happy world of regular exercise

Everyone knows that exercise burns calories and that means those excess pounds come sliding off.

But that's just the beginning!

Here are five other impressive reasons to move on a regular basis:

1- Double boost for your ticker and vessels

Not only does exercise help improve your circulation, but it also strengthens all of your muscles, including your most important one--your heart.

That can help lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol and help prevent against heart attack and stroke.

How does that sound to all of you on high blood pressure drugs and statins?

2- Spring in your step

The stronger the muscles are around your joints, the more pressure they take off your joints.

Great news for anyone with joint pain and stiffness or full-blown arthritis or fibromyalgia.

As a matter of fact, in a Tufts University study, arthritis patients who did strength-training exercise reported a 43 percent decrease in pain.

So if you're popping pain pills or anti-inflammatories on a regular basis, you could feel a whole lot better if you just get moving.

Plus you’ll help prevent against ulcers, gastritis, liver damage and addiction from the pills too.

3- Turn on your inner vacuum (AKA your lymphatic system)

Your lymphatic system is your "inner vacuum."  It's an amazing filtration system in your body designed to pull out and eliminate wastes around your cells.

One of the ways it “dumps out your inner trash” is through your sweat.

So for those of you who say you "don't like to sweat" as your excuse not to exercise, you are likely a walking clogged toilet, keeping a whole lot of cell wastes and garbage inside of you. 

Not only can this give you tremendous body odor that deodorant can't cover up, but it also makes you a very attractive home to sickness and disease.

Now, unlike your circulatory system, your lymphatic system doesn’t have a “pump” like your heart to keep lymph flowing around and cleaning you.

Instead YOU must be the pump—and regular exercise keeps your lymph moving like it should.

4- Put on a happy face

Exercise encourages the release of feel-good chemicals (neurotransmitters and endorphins) in your body.

They're Nature's anti-depressants and they have absolutely NO side effects!

Plus for those of you with anxiety, the increase in body temperature and release of stress during exercise can have a calming effect on your mood.

5- Stress relief

Exercise is far and away the most effective stress-reliever. 

Stress is an underlying factor in most sicknesses and diseases because it hampers your immune system functioning. 

Plus there’s the obvious stress eating-weight gain vicious cycle that so many people are trapped in.

Where do I start?

Now that you see that exercise is SO much more than just burning calories, you may be overwhelmed and not know quite where to start. 

First of all, it's important to get your doctor’s OK, especially if the couch and you have been BFFs for quite some time.

Then here are four tips to help ensure your success:

1) Boost your energy

Lacking energy is a major reason why many people don't exercise as often as they should.

But what they don't realize is that lacking energy is a direct result of their how good (or bad!) their digestion is.

Nothing your body does demands more energy than digestion.  So if yours is not going along so well, your body is burning up lots of energy just to get the job done…and that can mean very little remaining for your workout!

The simplest way to promote good digestion is to eat meals that your body can more easily break down and make sure you have the enzymes for the job.

The Great Taste No Pain system can show you how to structure easier to digest meals that taste positively fantastic!

When you eat meals that can be broken down more efficiently by your stomach and intestines, your system doesn't need to use up as much energy for digestion.

That can mean lots more energy for YOU!

Having enough enzymes is crucial too.

Unfortunately, people who have a poor diet history may have diminished their body’s ability to produce adequate enzymes for digestion because their bodies have expended so many trying to break down highly processed foods for so long.

Contrary to what you may believe, there is not an endless river of enzymes flowing through you…and sooner or later you may run short.

If you suspect you have an enzyme challenge, Digestizol Max can give your body the boost it needs.

Digestizol Max’s blend of 15 different enzymes helps your body tackle whatever you’ve eaten and encourage smooth, efficient digestion.

2) Consider vitamin B12 supplementation

Vitamin B12 is an important player in your metabolism that generates your body's energy from fats and carbohydrates.

Unfortunately, it's also a very common deficiency--especially with vegetarians, people who use antacids, people who have had gastric surgery and the elderly.  

To ensure that you have enough of this crucial nutrient, a vitamin B12 supplement like Hydroxaden 2.5 is just what you need.

Hydroxaden 2.5 is a convenient vitamin B12 spray that gives you the 2.5 mg of B12 (in the form of hydroxocobalamin) suggested by many health experts.  Just five sprays under your tongue each day is all it takes.

3) Start slowly and build up

One of the most common reasons people don't stick with an exercise program is they go gung-ho in the beginning, get hurt, then quit.

Start slowly and build up.  Remember, whether it takes you 16 minutes or 6 minutes, a mile is still a mile.  

And if brisk walking or running is your activity of choice, know that you'll burn about 90-100 calories a mile.

4) Make it fun

Here are some proven ways to make exercise more enjoyable:

• Pick something you like. And if you don't like any form of exercise, at least walk briskly around your neighborhood.
• Get a buddy. You're more likely to stick with exercise if you have someone else counting on you to show up. Even the dog can be your buddy and the exercise will do him or her good too. 
• Join a class if you can’t motivate yourself and need someone else pushing you. You’ll meet people in the same boat as you and make new friends.
• Multi-task. If it's TV you love, watch TV while you're on the treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical. You can watch your favorite shows and watch your gut disappear! 
• Play your favorite upbeat music to keep you going. 
• Use your imagination. Things like dancing, gardening, yardwork and washing the car can be exercise too.

Open up YOUR whole new world

Once you begin moving your body, a whole new world can open up for you...a world where you can feel better than you have in YEARS!

Don't procrastinate any longer. Don't be a sick, overweight, medicated excuse-maker.

Nothing is more important than your health.

Start now.

And by the way, I’m not just someone telling you what to do while I sit at a desk. I walk my talk too as a 3rd degree black belt in karate.

To your health,

Sherry Brescia